More than 1,000 exoplanets have now been discovered by the Kepler Space Telescope, announced NASA this month, and the figure continues to climb. Three of the newly confirmed Kepler planets are thought…

Artist’s impression of an Earth-sized planet in the Kepler 186 system. But what makes one planet more habitable than another?
NASA Ames/SETI Institute/JPL-CaltechJanuary 5, 2015

When it comes to finding the right kind of planet to target in the search for life elsewhere in the universe, the size of the planet matters. All planets are believed to form by a process of competitive…

A reconstruction of the path and damage caused by the asteroid that exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia, in February 15, 2013.
Flickr/Sandia LabsDecember 15, 2014

Every so often our Earth encounters a large chunk of space debris which reminds us that our solar system still contains plenty of debris that could potentially have an impact on life on Earth. While the…

In the coming years, many planets that could host life will be discovered. But which will we target in the search for life elsewhere?
IAU/L CalçadaDecember 9, 2014

In the search for life beyond our solar system, we need to consider the system in which a planet moves, including the other planets and assorted debris that accompany it on its journey through the cosmos…

Artists conception of the a star with two Saturn-mass planets discovered by the Kepler satellite.
NASA/Ames/JPL-CaltechDecember 1, 2014

In the search for life-sustaining planets we must first choose the right host star. There are many factors that would make a star system too hostile for life to even get started, let alone survive for…

Artist’s impression of a sunset on the planet Gliese 667Cc. While that planet is likely not an ideal target, we will discover planets far more like our own.
ESO/L. CalçadaNovember 25, 2014

The criteria for life on other planets is the focus of the 4th Australian Exoplanet Workshop, hosted by the University of Southern Queensland this week. The first in this series on exoplanets looks at…